Everything you need to know about the case of David and Louise Turpin — the couple accused of holding their 13 children hostage

A combination photo of David Allen Turpin and Louise Ann Turpin as they appear in booking photos in Riverside County
Thomson Reuters

On Sunday, authorities discovered David and Louise Turpin's 13 children being held hostage in extremely disturbing conditions.

The hostages, ranging in ages from two to 29 years old, reportedly were shackled, starved, and living in filthy conditions.

Their children were reportedly homeschooled and rarely allowed to leave their previous residence.

The case of David and Louise Turpin, a California couple accused of holding their 13 children hostage in their home, has grown more and more disturbing with each new detail.

The Turpins were arrested on Sunday after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from their Perris, California, home and alerted authorities to the fact that her 12 other siblings were still in the house, malnourished, unbathed, and shackled to furniture with padlocks and chains.

Their 17-year-old daughter escaped and managed to call 911.

According to an incident report, the Turpins' 17-year-old daughter, whose name has not been released, escaped their home through a window and called 911 with a cell phone that she'd found inside the house. She alerted the authorities to the fact that her siblings were still inside the house and said that her parents, 57-year-old David Allen Turpin and 49-year-old Louise Anna Turpin, were holding them hostage.

Officers who responded to the call said that the 17-year-old appeared to be only 10 years old and looked emaciated. Upon entering, they discovered the conditions were inside the house were incredibly unsafe and unfit for residency.

The Turpins' hostages ranged in age from two years old to 29.

According to the aforementioned report, "Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults, ranging in age from 18 to 29."

The responders said that the conditions were "dark" and "foul-smelling" and that the residents appeared "malnourished and very dirty." The hostages, who were being held with chains and padlocks, were given food and beverages once they told authorities that they were starving.

Both Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services assisted officers on the scene. With their intervention, the seven adults were transported to Corona Regional Medical Center and the children were taken to Riverside University Hospital System, where they were all admitted for treatment.

When questioned, the incident report said that the Turpins could come up with no "logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner."

The Turpins allegedly left their previous home in a state of disarray.

According to the Daily Mail, the Turpins lived in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1992 to 1999 and then moved to Rio Vista, Texas, from 1999 to 2010 before their home was foreclosed.

The owners of the Fort Worth home said that when they went into their house after the Turpins had moved, they discovered that it was caked in dirt, scratches, and filth. At the time, they believed that animals caused the mess, CBS reported.

Their children were reportedly homeschooled and rarely allowed to leave their previous residence.

A former neighbor in Rio Vista told WFAA, "They were hoarders, and they moved themselves out of the house and moved into a mobile home they had here."

The person who currently lives in their former Rio Vista home also told WFAA, "She never allowed her children to go outside and play. They homeschooled every one of them and one day they just up and left."

And the owner said she noticed some strange changes in the home.

"There are two vents in the closet, and they are covered up now," she said, with WFAA saying that she wonders if the closets are where the children were kept.

According to WFAA, neighbors who knew the family said "the couple kept to themselves and they rarely saw the children." The Daily Mail also reported that neighbors described the home as a "religious compound" and that the children were not "allowed" to tell anyone their names.

California state records indicate that David Turpin had registered the Perris residence as a private school, calling it "Sandcastle Day School."

A Perris neighbor, Andria Valdez, told The Press-Enterprise that her family joked that the Turpins were "really, really pale" like the vampires from the "Twilight" series, while another neighbor said that they "didn't know there were kids in the house."

There had been no prior reports of abuse and members of the Louise Turpin's family were "shocked" by the news.

Authorities had never received any complaints about the family, according to BuzzFeed.

Louise Turpin's sister, Elizabeth Flores, told "Good Morning America" that she was "shocked" to find out about the abuse.

Flores had lived with the couple for several months while they were in Texas and though she said she'd never seen "any type of abuse" she did say that she'd been "scared" and uncomfortable around David Turpin, who she said would watch her while she showered.

"Now that I'm an adult and I look back I see things that I didn't see then," Flores said.

James and Betty Turpin, David Turpin's parents, told ABC that "God called" David and Louise to have so many children, who they said were raised in the Pentecostal faith, faced "strict homeschooling," and would memorize long Bible verses, some of the children even trying to memorize the book entirely.

The elder Turpins hadn't seen their son, who they said was an engineer, and grandchildren in "four or five years" but believed they were "happy" and were "surprised" to hear of the abuse in the home.

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin.
David McNew/Getty Images

They shared photos and videos of their family on their joint Facebook page.

In a stark contrast to the scene painted by the incident report, the Turpin parents would often share photos and videos of their family, including the children, on their shared Facebook profile, according to The Press-Enterprise.

The family went to Disneyland and Las Vegas together, with the couple renewing their vows in 2011, 2013, and 2015. The video of their 2011 vow renewal shows them together at a Las Vegas-style chapel with an Elvis impersonator officiating.

In one Facebook photo, one of their children is even shown wearing a t-shirt that says, "mommy loves me."

In reality, law enforcement officials said that the children were only fed once a day and showered only twice a year. Their house was reportedly "urine-filled."

Their children are reportedly "stable" while their parents await trial.

According to PEOPLE, those in charge of the children's care have faith in their recovery.

Mark Uffer, the CEO of the Corona Regional Medical Center, said that the older children in his care "are actually pretty stable" despite the harrowing experience. He said that "they are in a very safe environment" and are together.

If you believe that someone you know is being abused, you can contact your state's Offices of Child and Family Services, which offer assistance to children and adults. In the event of an emergency, please call 911.

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